The Department of Justice announced today that a two-count federal grand jury indictment returned against Spokane, Washington police officer Karl F. Thompson Jr. was unsealed.
The indictment charges Thompson, 61, with the deprivation of Otto Zehm’s civil rights on March 18, 2006, by repeatedly striking him with a baton and tasering him. Thompson is also charged with making a false entry in a record in a matter investigated by a federal agency.
The civil rights charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, up to three years of court supervision after release and restitution. The falsification of records in a matter investigated by a federal agency carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of court supervision after release.
The case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by the Civil Rights Division.